‘Twelve Years A Slave’ Becomes More Awesome By Adding Michael K. Williams

'Twelve Years A Slave' Becomes More Awesome By Adding Michael K. Williams

So far, Steve McQueen‘s films –“Hunger” and “Shame” — have favored small casts delivering intense drama, but with “Twelve Years A Slave” he’s switching up the game. The subject matter is still sober (slavery), but he’s enlisting pretty much every one of our favorite actors in a cinephile’s equivalent of pornography. And he’s added one more name to the already stellar cast.

Michael K. Williams aka Omar from “The Wire” aka Chalky White from “Boardwalk Empire” has come on board the film joining (take a very deep breath): Chiwetel Ejiofor, Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender, Scoot McNairy, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Giamatti, Paul Dano, Sarah Paulson, Garret Dillahunt, Ruth Negga, Taran Killam, Adepero Oduye and Alfre Woodard. The film tells the true story of Solomon Northup, a freed slave who is tricked back into slavery, faces a grueling life under several owners and has to go court to reclaim his status. Williams will play a mutinous slave named Robert.

Production on the film is already underway in New Orleans, and yeah, this is already very, very high on our list of films in 2013. [Deadline]